A.J. Brewer is giddy. The day before we met, his Manchester coffee shop, Brewer’s Café, turned 2, and the next day he woke to a Facebook post informing him that Travel + Leisure named the cafe the top sandwich spot in Virginia. “So if I seem distracted, that’s why,” says the Richmond native, who left a career as a stockbroker in D.C. to return to his home city and start the shop.

But Brewer doesn’t seem distracted; he seems electric. He shifts in his chair and pantomimes as he talks about what the café, and the neighborhood, mean to him.

Although he grew up in Randolph, Brewer attended First Baptist Church in Blackwell and spent time in the area throughout his childhood. A series of chances led him back to Manchester from D.C., first to live and then to open Brewer’s.

“I wanted to do something in my neighborhood,” he says. “The only way neighborhoods succeed is if you have folks living here and also working here and supporting the local businesses. It’s like a bowl of soup — the chicken noodle soup doesn’t taste as good without the noodles.”

Now, Brewer says he’s fortunate to live, work and play all on the same block. In 2016, Brewer’s Café partnered with Manchester Manifest to bring a music and arts festival to the lot next to the shop, and this summer they expanded the concept to a monthly First Fridays celebration of the performing and fine arts.

Manchester is in the midst of an exciting time, according to Brewer. He says to keep moving forward, residents should take ownership of the neighborhood’s future. “We can all have the mentality that not only is [Manchester] good enough to live or work here, but it’s good enough to create something here.”

Boom, Bust, Boom

For nearly a century and a half following its founding in 1769, Manchester developed independently of Richmond,with its own schools, police departments, churches and other institutions. By the 1890 census, the city boasted more than 9,000 residents.

But the city was always second to its sibling across the river, and was denigrated as “Dogtown” by some. It was annexed by Richmond in 1910. Its commercial district thrived through the mid-20th century, but fell into a precipitous decline, reaching a nadir in the 1970s. Piecemeal projects have brought change to the community since then, along with new residents and businesses.

Now, Manchester is home to Brewer and other entrepreneurs, a bustling fine-arts community, a gaggle of industrial spaces transformed into hip residential developments, and thriving shopping and eating establishments.

Milton Vice, president of the Hull Street Merchants Association and one of the organizers of the annual Hull Street Festival, says he’s proud of the growth the corridor is seeing. “Several years ago, the area had surrendered,” says Vice, “but now this area is being rescued.”

Hull Street

Hull Street has long been to Manchester what Broad Street has been to Richmond. The first-ever Ukrop's opened at 3111 Hull St. in 1937, but it is the stretch of Hull roughly between 9th and 17th streets that formed the heart of the commercial corridor. Banks, restaurants, department stores, food markets and a movie theater thrived there through the mid-1900s.

The growth of suburban shopping malls contributed to the corridor’s decline in the second half of the century, though the street has never been truly dormant. Today, while some shopfronts stand empty, businesses old and new help keep commerce alive. The old Venus Theater (marquee still intact) is now a secondhand furniture store, and the 1200 block of Hull, home to Rudd’s Meats and Singer in the early 1950s, is now home to Bahashem Soap Co., 1221-A Hull St., and relative newcomer Island Yoga Fitness, 1229 Hull St.

Manchester Docks

In 1778, Virginia outlawed the trafficking of Africans from abroad into slavery. But that didn’t end the slave trade in the state. Instead, Richmond became the main East Coast hub of the “downriver” slave trade — the selling and transport of enslaved Africans from one part of the Americas to another.

Between 1830 and 1860, no other place on the East Coast was selling more slaves downriver than Richmond, and the Manchester Docks, located at what’s now often called Ancarrow’s Landing, were the trade’s main port.

Today, the docks serve as the point of origin for the Richmond Slave Trail. They are also one of the sites of the Elegba Folklore Society’s annual Juneteenth Freedom Celebration commemorating emancipation.

Tate Field

In the 1920s and ’30s Tate Field on Mayo Island was home to the Richmond Colts, the city’s minor league baseball team. Recurrent flooding and a major fire led the Colts to relocate in 1941, but not before both Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth reportedly swung a bat there.

Where to Eat

Drive down Hull Street on a weekend, and it’s hard to miss Croaker’s Spot, 1020 Hull St., where groups waiting for tables regularly spill out onto the sidewalk. The restaurant, which opened in Manchester in 2010, is known for its soulful seafood dishes. For a quintessential Croaker’s experience, order the Fried Seafood Platter or the Famous Fish and Shrimp Fry, and plan to take plenty home.

For soul food in a relaxed atmosphere, stop by Send-A-Chef, 1303 Hull St. Primarily a catering business, Send-A-Chef also offers diners sit-down meals at their Hull Street storefront Wednesday through Sunday. Crowd favorites include the Sunday buffet (served from noon to 6 p.m.) and made-from-scratch desserts, like their five-flavor pound cake.

Diners looking for a boost can catch a caffeine buzz at Brewer’s Café, 1125 Bainbridge St. Enjoy a latte with a specialty sandwich like the Brewer’s Club (turkey, ham, thick-cut bacon and Sriracha mayo on hearty white bread). The shop also mixes specialty bourbon drinks.

Finish with something sweet at Soul-Ice, 1011 Hull St. Owner Malcolm Andress has sold his frozen desserts from carts around the city for a decade, but the Hull Street store is his first brick-and-mortar location. Mix and match flavors like mango, tie-dye and piña colada and top with fresh fruit.

What to Do

Craft beer enthusiasts and patio lovers alike have been enjoying the brews and views at Legend Brewing Company, 321 W. Seventh St., since 1994. In 2017, Legend was joined by Twisted Ales Craft Brewing, which opened a taproom a block away at 212 W. Sixth St.

Departing from Ancarrow’s Landing, walkers can head west along the riverfront on the Richmond Slave Trail. Markers along the way tell the history of the slave trade in Richmond. At Mayo Bridge, the trail crosses north into Shockoe Bottom. Those wishing to continue on the riverfront can pick up the Floodwall Walk, which offers panoramic views of the Richmond skyline and chances to glimpse local wildlife.

Those planning (or fantasizing about) a home renovation could spend an afternoon perusing the architectural salvage at Caravati’s Inc., a 40,000-square-foot warehouse at 104 E. Second St. Stained-glass windows, antique doorknobs and reclaimed heart pine lumber are some of the treasures in its Manchester showroom.

Artspace, Zero E. Fourth St., and Art Works, 320 Hull St., are mainstays of Manchester’s gallery scene. Now Manchester Contemporary, 1309 Hull St., and Manchester Gallery, 1409 Hull St., both of which opened in October, are helping make the neighborhood a must-visit art destination.

Dance lovers should have Dogtown Dance Theatre, 109 W. 15th St., on their radar. The nonprofit, whose mission is to provide a home for independent dance artists, has occupied the former Bainbridge Junior High building since 2010. Jess Burgess, Dogtown’s artistic and executive director, is excited that Manchester is getting rediscovered, and that her theater and other art options in the district are helping to change attitudes. “Dance is not just for the dance community, but the entire community,” she says. "In the past seven years, alongside the ongoing weekly artistic programming Dogtown provides, the activity we’ve seen at Corrugated Box and Tumblr, and Art Works and Artspace galleries in Manchester are giving this area a voice of its own. The arts are playing a huge role in what’s happening across the river.”